Tuesday, July 29, 2008

I had earlier posted two articles i.e. 'ALLOW MB TERENGGANU TO MAKE DECISION' and 'ROTTEN PRACTICES SPILLING OUT' on July 23 and July 24 respectively, concerning the purchase of Mercedes Benz by the Terengganu government for use by the State Exco members, as a replacement for the Perdana V6 Executive, in clear defiance of procedures of the Federal government.

Once again, I wish to say that what the MB Terengganu did was right, and had he not made the unpopular decision, the whole scheme of corrupt practices would not have emerged. Please remember that the amount runs in millions, and these unscrupulous people have fed themselves to richness, without fear of retribution from the state laws, let alone from the laws of Allah almighty. Now, that they are caught, they will have to suffer the shame, and to pay heavily for the consequences of their evil doing.

The defiance of the MB Terengganu is just not merely the purchase of the Mercedes Benz. He had called out clearly for the ACA to further investigate other state expenses, especially that of the construction of the Crystal Mosque, the costs of organising the Monsoon Cup and other 'non beneficial' projects carried out by the previous state government. Should the ACA accepts that call, I am sure many more heads will fall, and it will surely lead right up to the corridors of Putrajaya. Will the ACA dare accept this challenge? Your guess is as good as mine.

Now that the such rotten practices has come to the fore, I would further invite the ACA to investigate other ministries/departments over the Perdana scam. I bet you, many more of such rotten practices will emerge.

Sunday, July 27, 2008

The formalization of a border security force dedicated to manning our country’s borders is apt and timely. I am alluding to the recent establishment of a Border Brigade which was reported in the New Straits Times recently. The Brigade with its Headquarters in Perlis, has five border battalions strung astride the Malaysia-Thai border.

Prior to this, the battalions were manned by mobilized soldiers from the army reserve force, commonly known as territorial units. Being mobilized soldiers, they are governed by a different set of regulations and terms of service, which are not attractive, when compared to their regular counterparts. Hopefully, with the regularization of the border security forces, the soldiers are now on ‘equal footing’ with the regular forces, in every aspect of their career.

Manning of static border posts are not normally liked by the regular forces. It is boring and restricts the initiative of soldiers, and without any activity over a long period of time, complacency will eventually creep in. These are some of the fears that commanders are confronted with, when ordered to do static operational duties. I am quite sure, this fear will also ‘haunt’ commanders of this new border security force, besides other motivational issues affecting soldiers permanently deployed in border areas.

With the establishment of the border security force, regular battalions are now relieved of such duties, and are therefore able to concentrate more on their core function i.e. to train to master the art of a modern war, which is getting more complex.

In light of this new development in the Army’s force structure, I would hasten to suggest that Army also look at a similar force structure, to relieve regular forces manning all islands in Sabah, and along our coastal areas. This deployment which was aimed primarily at curbing the intrusion of illegal immigrants, should not have been the responsibility of army units.

‘City Hall will not hesitate to use ‘force’ to acquire land in Kampung Baru for development’. This was reported in the Streets column of New Straits Times dated July 26, 2008.

Isn’t those words threatening? It sounds like one to me, and who is City Hall threatening? I am extremely curious as to why City Hall is so persistent and adamant in ‘getting rid’ of the Malay community in Kampung Baru that had lived there for generations. And where will the evicted Malay community be sent to? Not to some remote jungle areas where monkeys roam? I would advise City Hall bosses to read the history of Kampung Baru thoroughly first, before they decide to use force to evict the Malay settlers there. I know, non of them have any affiliation with Kampung Baru.

I had friends from overseas visiting me, and they were highly impress with what the see in Kampung Baru. They say that Kampung Baru blends well with urban Kuala Lumpur, and the simplicity in the life style portrayed by the Kampung Baru folks, is a total reflection of what Malaysians truly are.

Kuala Lumpur does not need anymore skyscrapers, luxury condominiums, posh hotels and exclusive shopping arcades. What City Hall should concentrate immediately is to solve the traffic problem in Kuala Lumpur which is ‘hellish’ and suffocating. Approving new buildings within the city limits, will only worsen the traffic flow.

I am not privy to the nature of development that City Hall had planned for Kampung Baru, but I am quite sure it is to construct more buildings. Rather then destroy the beauty of Kampung Baru, why not get the kampung folks to ‘modernise’ their homes, construct better roads and to landscape its surroundings with lots of trees and flower plants? Isn’t this a good idea to bring the beautiful flock birds back to the city?

Friday, July 25, 2008

Suhakam's public inquiry into the alleged use of excessive police force on one Chung Jiun Hiur, by the Federal Reserve Unit (FRU) officers at the disputed Bandar Mohkota Cheras barricade on May 27, 2008, is one of extreme public interest. Beating up civilians who are unarmed and hapless, in the manner that they did to Chung, is outright brutality. I read that it required a platoon size FRU officers to take down just one civilian, and this is just ridiculous. With that numbers, even an elephant could have died.

Incidents of police brutality in this country, has occurred several times in the past, but what has come out of it leaves much to be desired. The beating of Chung conjours up images of the recent happenings in Zimbabwe and Kenya, where death upon innocent civilians caused by the police and army actions, rules the day. Are our FRU units of the same 'category' as that of Zimbabwe and Kenya; senseless, merciless, and the uniform they wear gives them the right to do as they please? I am sure, they are taught that the equipment they carry is only to be used in self defence. Surely it wasn't self defence in the case of Chung.

I now wonder what of the shooting case in Batu Buruk, Terengganu incident? This case is the first in our history where the police had used live bullets to disperse crowds. Isn't Suhakam conducting a public inquiry on this incident, or is it one of self defence?

I hope Suhakam's findings will be just, and the rule of law prevails in order to bring back public confidence in our FRU and police units.

Thursday, July 24, 2008

I had earlier posted an article concerning the purchase of Mercedes Benz as officials cars for Terengganu EXCO members. Now, we all can see that the MB Terengganu, may have made the right decision to do away with the Perdana V6 Executive.

Look at the cost of maintenance for the previous MB, Deris Jusoh's Perdana V6.....a wooping RM 230,000 or thereabout, over a period of 4 years. Can all honest and decent people believe it? Please answer this Deris Jusoh, and don't say that you are not responsible, and blame it all on your driver.

Now,the ACA has decided to investigate, as they say that something is not right. Surely it is not right, and everybody knows that. What is important now is for the case to be fully investigated, and to prosecute those who are at fault, WITHOUT FEAR OR FAVOUR. And please do not leave my brother Deris Jusoh out of this. If he is truly a leader, he should not absorb himself of blame.

For the MB Terengganu, thank you for your stubbornness to challenge your bosses seated in Putrajaya. Had you decided to buy the Perdana V6 Executive, this whole rotten and corrupt practice of the previous Terengganu government, would not have emerge. And believe you me, many more rotten practices will come spilling out.

Wednesday, July 23, 2008

The controversy over the purchase of Mercedes Benz cars for the Terengganu Executive Council members, against the purchase of the Perdana V6 Executive, has now become an issue between the Terengganu state government and the federal government. This does not auger well for state-federal relations.

Personally, I do see anything badly wrong for the MB Terengganu to purchase the Mercedes Benz, as we all have to respect his reasons, for he is the rightful executive head

I was once an owner of a Perdana V6, but I had to sell it off because of the perennial problems that I had with the car. I even had to change my gearbox, and the front fender keeps dropping off. The noise that the car makes while traveling is unbearable. I suppose, the MB Terengganu had faced similar problems with the Perdana V6 Executive, that resulted in him changing it to a Mercedes Benz. I too now drive a 20 year old second hand Mercedes Benz, and it is free of all the problems that I had with my Perdana.

The other point that I wish to make here is that the purchase is not wasteful, since selling the cars off later will still earn the government some revenue. But what had been spent by the previous state government, is to me more wasteful and had little benefit for the people. I need not want to say what the wasteful spendings were, because this is well known the people of Terengganu. Are we not aware that Terengganu, with its oil wealth is still one of the poorest state in Malaysia? What's the point of the the Crystal Mosque or the Moonsoon Cup, when the state is still poor?

Shahril Samad need to exercise a bit of flexibility, and to allow the MB Terengganu to make his own decision in running the state government.

NST online dated July 23, 2008 reports that Lt Col Abdul Aziz Buyong and his wife, Lt Col Norhayati Hassan has filed a RM 2 million defamation suit against RPK for an allegation that both were involved, together with Rosmah Mansor (wife of DPM), in the murder of Altantuya, the Mongolian beauty.The murder case which is still being heard at the Shah Alam High Court, has attracted international attention, especially Mongolia which even threatens to sever diplomatic relations with Malaysia, if they find that the case is not well handled.

RPK had earlier been summoned by the police to answer questions relating to a 'defamatory' article that he wrote in his Malaysia Today blog regarding the Altantuya murder, and a Statutory Declaration that he had filed alleging the involvement of Rosmah Mansor, and the two army officers mentioned above.

Despite all that has been said against Rosmah and Najib relating to the murder case, both have yet to move a legal recourse against RPK. Keeping silence over such a serious allegation may conjure up negative impressions of both Rosmah and Najib in the minds of people who have been monitoring the case closely, more so among Najib's 'political adversaries'.

And with UMNO's General Assembly nearing, I suppose Najib has every reason not to worry himself over the RPK's allegation, but to focus his attention more to the upcoming general assembly, as this will have great effect on his political ambitions.

Following an article titled ‘Massacre in the Tonle Sap’ that I had posted a earlier, I now wish to post another article regarding the Malaysian Army contingent experience in Cambodia on UN peacekeeping duties .

There were three major incidences worthy of note, that were life threatening to our soldiers deployed in the frontline areas, in the Battambang province. For this posting, I would like to describe the first incident that occurred in the district of Phum Bovel.

It was in the early morning of December 9th, 1992, at D Company’s location at Phum Bovel, where the company came under mortar attack from Khmer Rouge’s known positions at Ta Cot and Deisar. A day before, there were already rumours of the attack, and this had caused villages nearby to evacuate the surrounding area.

At around 5.45 am that fateful day, the Khmer Rouge launched its first mortar attack which fell close to the company’s base camp. This caused the soldiers who had awoken some time earlier to scurry to safety at the nearby town. Subsequent shells fell into the base camp, but none scored a direct hit at the wooden accommodation blocks of the soldiers.

One would wonder why had the soldiers vacated their base camp for the safety of the town, and not bunkered themselves to defend the base camp? The reason was because, firstly, the mission was one of peacekeeping, and the soldiers are not to view the warring Cambodian factions as their enemy. Hence, in whatever they do, they ought to be seen as being defensive. Having to construct bunkers, observation post, barb wire perimeter fence and heavy machine gun post around the base, would be seen by the Cambodians as being offensive. This was exactly what the Dutch Army contingent did, that angered the locals.

Secondly, even if the soldiers had taken all of the above defensive measures, and defended the base, still there is nothing that the soldiers could do to retaliate the mortar shelling, because the company was not equipped with indirect fire weapons, such as mortars or artillery guns. So why then do they need to defend the base camp, and to be targeted upon like ‘shooting ducks’?

The impact of the mortar shelling, caused some damages to the wooden panels of some of the buildings. A shell which dropped close to the ammunition dump failed to explode, and this saved the company of untoward casualties to the soldiers . In all, a total of 15 mortar shells were accounted.

Soon after the attack, the Cambodian government forces which was located in proximity to D Company, launched a series of counter attacks into Khmer Rouge held areas capturing two locations i.e. Phum Ta Hen and Pong Ro. However, the counter attack forces did not proceed further to capture Ta Cot and Deisar, for unknown reason.

Upon being informed of the attack, I hastily proceeded to Phum Bovel, only to find the soldiers huddled in groups in the town area; a sight reminiscing that of Cambodian returnees that we had first witnessed, during their repatriation into Cambodia, from the Thai-Cambodia border.

Despite their ordeal, the soldiers did not display any signs of fear or trauma, but remained high spirited and unscathed. This I thought, was the hallmark of a highly trained and motivated soldiers, for which Malaysians ought to be extremely proud off.

Tuesday, July 22, 2008

Over the last weekend, I received as my guest house, a couple from Singapore whom I had befriended many years ago, and of whom I had been in constant touch. The husband, Yahya is a retired officer of the Singpore Police Force, and had served in Cambodia during the period of the United Nations Transitional Authority (UNTAC) in 1993. The spouse, Imah on the other hand was a staff of a Malaysian company based in Singapore.

After dinner, we talked about old times, and the subject that touched me most was when Yahya started talking about Cambodia. Both of us were in Cambodia at about the same time, but with us serving in different provinces; me, the Malaysian Army contingent commander in the province of Battambang, and Yahya, the UN Police Commander in the province of Siem Reap.

Yahya then started recalling the massacre of innocent ethnic Vietnamese in the great Tonle Sap, perpetrated by the Khmer Rouge in March 1993. Coincidently, I had also recorded this heinous crime in a book that I wrote in 2004.

I would like to touch a bit regarding this incident for the benefit of my readers, many of whom may not have been aware that the brutalities perpetrated by the Khmer Rouge on the Cambodian people in the 70’s, was still prevalent up till the time, the UN peacekeeping forces was in Cambodia beginning November 1991 until early 1994.

The massacre which occurred in March 1993 in a floating village in the Tonle Sap, in the province of Siem Reap was a scene of brutal savagery that killed 34 innocent ethnic Vietnamese, at the hands of the Khmer Rouge. Shooting at the heads of the victims, chopping part of the bodies, and leaving it to rot, was a typical trademark of the Khmer Rouge.

The perpetrators knew no mercy. Babies after being shot were thrown into the lake. Women and old folks were shot at close range and butchered. The floating village which had a population of approximately 1,200 ethnic Vietnamese were mainly fisherman. The Khmer Rouge had a long standing hatred for the Vietnamese, whom they accused of having aided Heng Samrin, to oust them from power in the 1979 Vietnamese invasion of Cambodia.

Yahya related to me his ordeal in carrying out the investigation on the massacre. It wasn’t a sight that one would like to witness, and to be counting dead bodies, had a traumatic effect on him. The incident shook the UN fraternity in Cambodia, and arresting the perpetrators wasn’t an easy feat. In fact, I knew of no one who had been arrested for the crime committed by the Khmer Rouge. The reason is simply that there were no willing witnesses, for if there were any, they will be dead themselves.

I revisited Cambodia last in 2005. It is back to normalcy, and the sights of ill discipline soldiers roaming the streets are no more. Business is thriving. The roads in the city are once again crowded with cars, lorries, bicycles, and motorcycles, but the road discipline of its riders/drivers remains the same.

Monday, July 21, 2008

When the southern development corridor (I do not know what is it being called now) was launched by Pak Lah in 2007, most viewed it as an ingenious attempt by the BN government to bolster the economic development of the country to unprecedented heights, and to fast track the country to achieving a developed status by year 2020.

There was pomp and splendor at the launching of this ambitious project, with the HRH Sultan of Johor, and a host of distinguished dignitaries gracing the occasion.

Not too long after the launching of the southern development corridor, two other development corridors were announced (though not as conspicuous as the first) i.e. northern, and eastern development corridors, that is supposedly to cost trillions of ringgit, and with the hope of generating thousands of jobs.

A year has passed and the general elections long over, there is quiescent as to the status of all the three development corridors.

One wonder, have the bulldozers stopped clearing the land, or the recent petroleum hike and the rising cost of construction material called for a temporary halt to the projects? Or has the investors (whoever they maybe) suddenly changed their mind on investing? There has also been no write up of late, in the mainstream media concerning the development corridors.

Now, with the ‘changing of baton’ scheduled mid 2010 between Pak Lah and Najib, and the uncertainty of the corridors ever getting off the ground within a two year period, a change of leadership remains elusive. I believe Pak Lah would surely want to see at least one of his development corridor complete to savour some sense of personal pride and achievement, and this is quite natural of leaders.

With Anwar charging for a change of government by September this year, and should this charge be effectively stalled by Pak Lah, Anwar’s only option will then be to vigorously maintain the pressure on Pak Lah. This option will only strengthen Pak Lah’s resolve not concede, but may opt to remain in power beyond year 2010.

Should the above be the political reality over the next two years, Najib and Rosmah might as well sing ‘Goodbye My Love’.

Sunday, July 20, 2008

"Anwar just making a lot of noise", says Malacca Chief Minister, Mohd Ali Rustam as was reported in Star online, 20th July, 2008.

I believe, Mohd Ali suffers from 'short memory syndrome' or SMS in short. Has he forgotten that it was the same noise that had brought down the BN government in three west coast states and almost wiped out BN control of the Federal Territory? And I can bet you my bottom dollar, that if there be a general election in Malacca today, Mohd Ali might as well drown himself in the Malacca Straits, rather than face the wrath of his bosses in Putrajaya.

While Anwar keeps making a lot of noise, and continuously draws huge crowds at all gatherings, UMNO appears still in a daze and unsettled, with lots of dissenting voices being heard outside the halls of the PWTC building.

Isn't the decision by Pak Lah to hand over the UMNO leadership to Najib in 2010, the result of these dissenting voices? Have you not heard the dissenting voices of some top notch UMNO politician stating their disagreement that the hand over date is far too long? And it is only you the 'Melakan UMNO', who wants the post of the President and Deputy President to remain unchallenged; for god knows why.

Mohd Ali, you know full well that your position as the CM come the next general election is precarious, so why not join Anwar in making a lot of noise too?

Saturday, July 19, 2008

The Menteri Besar Terengganu, Dato Ahmad Said is reported to have said that 'he has yet to receive an official word from the PM regarding the 5% petroleum royalty for the state, which is schedule this September'. He went further to say that 'he pledge that should the state not receive the 5% royalty, he will bring the case to court and defend it'.

Such statements from a Menteri Besar of a ruling BN state government, is seen as a direct challenge to the PM to fulfill his promises. What is even more revealing is that the statements were reported to have been made in the presence of PAS party members.

While many would see the action of Dato Ahmad, as likened to be in contravention to party norms, practices, solidarity and loyalty to the federal government, I would acknowledge his action as being for the care and interest of the people of Terengganu. Surely, his action will cause ripples in the UMNO leadership, where one is only expected to say 'saya sokong' to anything that the PM utters. We will now have to wait to see how the UMNO leadership will react to Dato Ahmad's statements.

I believe, Dato Ahmad must have valid and sincere reasons for 'blasting' the way he did. And we all ought to remember that he wasn't the PM's choice for the Menteri Besar's post, but it was the palace intervention that placed him there. He therefore is in a much stronger position in the state, than to worry himself about what the PM has to say of him.

Terengganu with all its wealth, deserves better treatment from the federal government now. Idris Jusoh ways of 'kow towing' to the PM is no longer acceptable to the people of Terengganu.

Debates has now taken a new interest in Malaysian politics. Now, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Dr. Rais Yatim has thrown a challenge to anyone to a debate on the 'rule of law in connection with the detention of Anwar over the sodomy case'. This is getting really exciting, especially for those in the legal fraternity.

I do hope someone, not necessarily from the opposition party, to take on the minister whom we know has a PhD in law. As I have commented in my earlier blog, I view debates as an intellectual discourse; not one of winning or losing. Take the example of the last debate between Shabery Cheek and Anwar, I am sure both the debaters have argued and raised some positive ideas that the government can implement,or at least take note off. Of course, personal attacks are not welcomed, and that was were I thought, Shabery went a strayed.

Having two politicians from two different political parties debating, may cause the debaters to be over protective of their party stance over the subject being debated, rather than to debate professionally from the points of law. This was what Shabery Cheek did; defending his parties stance, rather than to reasoned out his argument professionally.

I believe there are many seasoned and reputable lawyers around the country who can take Dr. Rais Yatim's challenge, and a debate like this by matured people, will be good for the government in its desire to champion the freedom of speech and expression.

I am also hoping to see Khairy throw a challenge to a debate on a subject like 'Was the March 8 elections in Rembau free and fair?'

Friday, July 18, 2008

I rested for a day, Thursday 17th, hoping not to indulge in discussions with friends concerning issues affecting the country, and I even refused to read the blogs and watch the TV. And Thursday too wasn't a pleasant day for me either, because the night before, I was informed of the demise of Dato Salleh Mat Som, the former PDRM's Director of Criminal Investigation Division, after a long illness. He was indeed a dear friend.

My wife and I attended the funeral of Dato Salleh Thursday morning at the Muslim Cemetery at Mount Kiara, and that gave me the wonderful opportunity of meeting some old police friends whom I have not met since their retirement, besides meeting the family members of the decease. I also met a number of my friends from the Armed Forces, and of all places...at the cemetery.

I recall being told by someone that there are three occasions where one get to meet old friends. First, at a wedding. Second, at a funeral, and thirdly at the IJN. And this proves to be true.

The news around the mainstream media today is still centered around Anwar and RPK. I am told by a friend who called last night to say that some countries are closely monitoring the development of the Anwar case. He feared that there will a diplomatic backlash against our country that can adversely affect us. The country is already shaken by this political and economic uncertainties, and a backlash in whatever form by other countries toward us, can be devastating.

I don't really care about what is being reported on the Anwar and RPK case now, for there is already too much written about it. But all will agree that there is a growing public sympathy for both Anwar and RPK, that should concern the government.The experience of 1998 which led to the imprisonment of Anwar is still fresh, and now what seemed a 'replay' of a similar event, may yet be the final blow for the BN government. I say this in all honesty, because this is the common view and sentiment of the ordinary people whom I talk to regularly, who are still struck by the recent oil price hike.

My advice to our leaders in government today, if I am qualified to do so, is to now concentrate your effort in stabilising the economy, improve public security, come down hard on corruption, and for goodness sake, get out of your cocoon and start talking to the people.

Wednesday, July 16, 2008

Reading through the Royal Commission of Inquiry into the beating of Anwar by the police, posted in RPK’s Malaysia Today dated July 16th 2008, makes me boiled in anger. I just could not understand how a person like Rahim Noor (former IGP) himself, can take the law into his own hands, to beat a handcuff and blindfold person senseless. Islam does not teach us this. In fact, Islam teaches us to be compassionate to others, even if the person is a staunch enemy, while he is in custody.

What Rahim Noor did to Anwar is unforgivable, and he deserves the punishment meted upon him, and be labeled an ex-convict forever. He will again be called to answer his deeds and misdeeds in the hereafter, where he will not have the privilege of a lawyer. And please remember, the wrath from God is unbearable. I strongly advice that Rahim seeks forgiveness from Anwar, before it is too late. And I am sure Anwar being human, will forgive him.

Today, we once again see Anwar being treated like a criminal by the authorities. Threat of arrest is being hauled at him. The police in particular has little regards as to who Anwar was or is now. If they do not recognized him as the ex DPM, that is quite understandable, because certain members of the police force are themselves engulfed in corruption, rape, assault and even murder.

It appears also that the mainstream media today is having a gala time reporting about the Anwar’s case. The news reporting hits front pages and written in bold, in almost every mainstream media. Certainly, the sudden attention given to Anwar, I would say, makes him the most popular person today .

I have also read somewhere of a senior police officer today, who was himself involved in assaulting RPK sometime ago, and despite a report being launch against the officer, action has yet to be taken. So what does one expect of police officers today……sympathy and kindness……no way.

As aqnticipated, the electronic media this morning blared out,that the debate between Shubery Cheek an Anwar Ibrahim last night (July 12), was a grand winner for the BN government. The news reported that airing the debate has proven that the government of Abdullah Badawi is exercising the the rights of the freedom of expression, by allowing the opposition, for the very first time, to argue their views live on TV.

The news also commented that Anwar had failed to impress the audience of his reasoning, that the price of petroleum can be lowered, should PR forms the government.

I had earlier commented in this blog that the debate should not be the one to decide who is the winner and the loser. The debate should be viewed as an intellectual discourse between two parties for the benefit of the people. It is for the people to then decide for themselves, based on intellectual reasoning, whether the decision to raise the price of petroleum was correct, or a lowering of the price can be implemented.

I for one do not agree that there is a winner or a loser, but I can positively say that I am better informed of the issue, now than before.

Tuesday, July 15, 2008

Tun Mahathir is reported to have said that "Muhyiddin Yassin will win the post of UMNO Deputy President, if he challenges Najib", and he went further to reasoned it out. And if Tun's 'prediction' does comes true, where will Najib go?

I somehow tend to believe that Tun's prediction will come true. I am no UMNO member (though I was once), nor do I know Muhyiddin or Najib. I only know them from afar.

My believe is being reinforced by my daily meeting and talking with the 'man on the street'. They range from road sweepers, taxi drivers, waiters, cooks, office boys and even some serving government officers. My method is to probe them with a lot of questions relating to the issues affecting the country today. Generally, the people that I talk to are not too highly educated, but they are certainly not stupid, to not understand what is happening around them.

When the question of UMNO and the leadership change announced by Pak Lah recently is raised, many believe that the change would not happen. It is merely a ploy to get Najib out of the political scene, they say. They reasoned out that Najib is too weak, and he can even be weaker than Pak Lah. They say that if Najib becomes PM, he will not be allowed to sit in the office, but will have to leave the office to his wife. Where did they get this idea from......I really don't know. But when I ask them, they just say that this is the talk of the town. So someone is spreading rumors around just to discredit Najib, I suppose.

But honestly, Tun's 'prediction', may have some truth. I say this because Muhyiddin is only human. He is already a senior member of UMNO, and a seasoned minister. He surely aspires to move up the ladder, and age is not in his favour. The positive point that Muhyiddin has is that he is not engulfed in controversies. Most people don't even know how his wife looked, and is void of controversy as well.

Najib surely has a tough fight should Muhyiddin throws in his candidacy for the Deputy President's post. But the final count will be for UMNO members themselves to decide, and I believe they will make the correct choice.

And to the question as to where Najib will go if he looses the post, my answer is that the world is large enough for him to go anywhere he pleases.

Higher Education Minister, Dato Seri Khalid Nordin has now join the chorus, when he commented to a question from an NST reporter yesterday, that Anwar must make himself available to the police for questioning, regarding his sodomy case.

My question is, what has he got to do with the case to make such a comment. There are other major issues affecting his ministry, that he ought to be looking at seriously.

Just a few minutes ago, I was at a friend's house, and my friend told me that her daughter who is an under graduate in Bio Technology, will have a lot of difficulty to secure a job when she returns home next year. He told me that, there are limited jobs available in her field of study, and for those who have returned home, most end up being sales person. I just wonder what has sales got to do with Bio Tech?

There are many other similar examples that I can write about. but suffice for me to say that both the Ministry of Higher Education and Ministry of Human Resource are not working hard enough to look into the reality of things, that is affecting young graduates today. If nothing serious is done to seek a remedy to this discrepancy, I am afraid that one day, we will have graduates in medicine ending up as postman.

Please stop making these unnecessary comments concerning others, that does not affect your ministry.

Monday, July 14, 2008

I have been traveling to work every day (less weekends) for the last 4 years in a KTBM commuter train. My journey is from Kajang station to Putra station and back. Being over 60 years old, I only pay half the original train fare, which I am thoroughly grateful to KTMB's management. One may ask, what is a 60 odd year old man still working at that late age? I have my reason for continuing to work at that age; simply, it is a crave and sheer joy to be among the younger people at my work place, and they keep me high and motivated.

The reason for me writing this open letter is to state my disappointment at the services of the commuter train, which has been deteriorating of late. It does not seem to improve, but gets worse everyday. And this despite the changes made to the train schedule lately.

Each time I get to the station, I hear the usual announcement of train delays. I hope the management realised that if there is a delay, the waiting passengers gets larger, and the train will be full like sardine. Despite my age, I am comparatively fit and strong to stand throughout my trip. But this is not so for women, children and people much older than me.

There was an occasion a fortnight ago, when a middle age lady virtually drop herself while standing in a crowded train. Bubbles appear out of her mouth, shivered and turned pale. I had to rush out to keep open the door of the train, while other passengers helped the lady out. Nobody knew what to do with her, and we just waited for her to recover on her own. Of course, the train had to be stopped, and this caused a larger crowd of passengers to keep shoving into the train, which has by now filled to its brim.

I would like to appeal to the KTMB's management to look at how to improve the train services, especially to cut the delays and to increase the trains during peak hours. What I expect to see is for the management to come down to the stations (especially at KL Sentral and Bandar Tasik Selatan) along the Seremban-KL route, during peak hours to see the maddening crowd waiting for the trains.

I have traveled in Europe and there are many more train lines, but the service is efficient, fast, comfortable and definitely, the crowds are unlike ours.

Have pity on your commuters, for the train is their only means of travel that is reasonably affordable.

1. The year was 1977. The 18th Battalion, Royal Malay Regiment was established a year earlier, and being commanded by its first Commanding Officer, Lt Col Abdul Rahman Lassim, a strict disciplinarian, and a no nonsense sort of person. For those who had long been associated with him, he is fondly known as “Rahman Rimau”.

2. The battalion is mainly manned by soldiers who had just completed their basic training at the Recruit Training Centre, Port Dickson. These are soldiers who were virtually ‘picked up from the villages’ and with minimum acceptable educational standard. The purpose is to evaluate soldiers competency against their educational standard, and to see if there is correlations between minimum acceptable educational standards and competency level achieved by these soldiers.

3. A few months of continuous battalion retraining for these new soldiers , the battalion was finally declared the operational, with a grand parade to mark the occasion.

4. The first opportunity given to the battalion to prove its prowess in jungle operations, was to be part of a bilateral Thai-Malaysian military operations to be conducted astride the Malaysia-Thai border, in the northern states of Kedah and Perlis. The bilateral operation was code named “Ops Doyai-Musnah”, which also gave the opportunity for Malaysian troops to exercise ‘hot pursuit operations’ inside Thailand. The battalion was to be placed under command of HQ 6th Infantry Brigade, for this operation, whose commander was Brig Gen Dato Osman Zain (now retired in the rank of Maj Gen).

5. A few months following the termination of Ops Doyai-Musnah, the battalion was ordered to be deployed to Telemong, Pahang; the hotbed of communist terrorist (CT) activities during the notorious First Malayan Emergency. And being a newly established battalion, the deployment to Pahang in search of remnants of Chong Chor’s infamous 6th Assault Unit, is another feather in the cap for the battalion.

6. The deployment to Telemong was to be a regular battalion deployment. But fate works in mysterious ways, and for this new battalion, the deployment was to be a proud and an historical achievement for the battalion, when the battalion successfully captured a total of 13 militant CTs in a single operation.

7. Let me briefly relate to the readers the glorious year of 1977, and the unfolding historical events that led to the battalion’s success, that had remained untold through all these years.

8. The order to deploy to Pahang was initiated by HQ 1st Infantry Brigade, than based at Terendak , Melaka. While in Pahang, the battalion was placed under command of HQ 4th Infantry Division under the command of Maj Gen Dato Wan Ismail (now retired).

9. Upon arriving Telemong, the battalion occupied the village Civic Centre (Balai Rakyat) as its HQ, with the companies deployed at its assigned locations. I, who was than a Company Commander, was called in to help man the Battalion HQ. The Commanding Officer being his routine, will always be out on the move, to keep a close watch on the activities of the companies.

10. A week or two into the operations, the Battalion HQ was to become a centre for a highly secret and confidential meeting place between senior military commanders and the Police Special Branch (SB). However, prior to this event, the Commanding Officer was summoned to attend a briefing at the Royal Malaysia Police HQ, Bukit Aman, Kuala Lumpur. The briefing was attended by non other than the Chief of Defence Forces (CDF), Gen Tan Sri Ibrahim Ismail (now retired Gen Tun Ibrahim), General Officer Commanding (GOC) HQ 2 Infantry Division, Maj Gen Dato Mahmud Sulaiman (now retired) and the host, the Inspector of Police (IGP), Tan Sri Hanif Omar (now retired Tun Hanif) himself. Also present were VAT 69 Commander, DSP Navaratnam (retired) and Military Intelligence Officer, Maj Otto Ong (retired).

11. This high level briefing was to deliberate on a joint military-police operation in the Telemong-Karak area; the success of which will impact on the future activities of the 6th Assault Unit in the entire state of Pahang.

12. The briefing proceeded with the Police Head of Special Branch (HSB), providing the full intelligence scenario concerning CT activities within the Pahang state, with special emphasis to the Telemong-Karak area. This was followed by an intense discussion as to the modus operandi to adopted for this special operation.

13. The HSB had proposed that the VAT 69 be used for this operation. Lt Col Abdul Rahman Lassim rebutted and suggested that “since my battalion is already positioned at Telemong, it will only be proper that the battalion be given this task”. To this suggestion, the CDF cautioned Lt Col Abdul Rahman, and told him to sit down.

14. The secret meetings now became a regular feature with the Commanding Officer being intensely involved with the SB. Something serious was amiss, and this became apparent when plans for the redeployment of the companies were being worked out, but the nature of operations had still remained elusive.

15. The operational plan for redeployment was being worked out by the Commanding Officer himself, whose past experience in counter insurgency operations, was to be put to test. Being trained by the US Special Forces in his early career, Lt Col Abdul Rahman had the full trust and confidence in himself, that his plan will succeed.

16. Upon the assurance from the SB that this highly secretive operations was ready to be executed, it was only then, that the officers and men of the battalion was fully informed as to the nature of the operations i.e. to capture alive 13 CTs that operates within the Telemong-Karak area.

17. Briefings with all Officer Commanding of companies ensued at Battalion HQ. This operation entails the redeployment of companies into assigned cordon positions and cut-offs before dawn. With three companies being deployed over a confined area, and a company in reserve, the operations had to executed with speed and under cover of darkness. There was to be absolute radio silence throughout the operations, until success is achieved.

18. As companies moved into positions, we all at Battalion HQ had a restless night. We had planned to take some sleep in rotation, but the excitement had kept our eyes wide opened. The ambience within the HQ itself was rather tense. The Commanding Officer had decided to move in with the companies, taking along with him the unit Regimental Signal Officer, Lt Nordin Shaari (decease) and a soldier escort.

19. With the cordon tightly in place, and the secrecy well maintained, we waited for the anxious moment to hear the first news of success at the break of dawn. I anticipated a fire fight which is quite expected in a cordon operation, but the sound of shots were not to be heard.

20. A few hours after the break of dawn, the HQ received news that the operation was a complete success, without a single shot being fired. The news was transmitted by the Commanding Officer himself who had been with the soldiers at the operation area throughout the night. The success of the operation was attributed to the successful negotiation between the Commanding Officer, SB and its agents, and the CT group. I was later informed by an officer who had participated in the operation that “should there be a fire fight, there would surely be casualties to both side”.

21. At around 10 am that morning, I was told to proceed to a school field at Telemong to receive the captured CTs that were being airlifted out from their jungle hideout. Although the RMAF helicopter carrying the captors did land at the school field, the pilot was immediately instructed to fly them out of Telemong, to another secured landing area, which was unknown to anyone of us.

22. The success of 18th Battalion, Royal Malay Regiment in this risky operation was attributed to the excellent cooperation that we had with the SB. This operation had been kept unknown to others up till now, supposedly to safeguard the security of the informants of the SB. There was not to be any jubilation for the success, and neither had anyone of us talked about it upon our return to Camp Segenting, Port Dickson, the battalion’s home base. The Commanding Officer who was highly instrumental in the conduct of the operation, was neither awarded for his achievement. However, I am told that the VAT 69 Commander and SB officer were duly awarded for their involvement. Here lies the discrepancy, which obviously favoured the police.

23. It is worthy to mentioned here, that HRH Sultan of Pahang and the Minister of Defence, Dato Mokhtar Hashim flew in to Telemong to be briefed by the Commanding Officer, immediately upon knowing that the operation had ended.

24. The success had no match in the annals of the corps of the Royal Malay Regiment i.e. to capture alive 13 CTs in a single operation without firing a single shot. The capture freed the Telemong-Karak area of CT influence, which consequently resulted in the annihilation of the 6th Assault Unit in Pahang, a few years later.

25. Three decades had now passed. Pahang and the entire nation is now free of threats from communist terrorism that had lingered for many years. But the sacrifices of the officers and men led by its first Commanding Officer, Lt Col Abdul Rahman Lassim (now retired Col Dato Abdul Rahman Lassim)to achieve unrivalled success in the 1977 Telemong-Karak episode, shall remain firmly embedded in the annals of the battalion.

Note: This article was prepared by Brig Gen Dato Mohd Arshad Raji (retired) with the consent of Col Dato Abdul Rahman Lassim (retired) for the purpose of record. The accuracy of this article has been checked by the latter. Should there be any error or inaccuracy in the article, the author wishes it to be posted in the comments to this blog.

With the politicians endlessly grabbing at each other's throat, what ends up is more hardship and inconvenienced caused to the public. The massive traffic jam this morning is proof of that. And the public is at a daze as to what else is forthcoming. The only thing that ministers could do is to apologise.....is this what they are suppose to do, being representative of the people?

Hardship is the least that the people wants. Fear for their safety and that of their families is getting to be realised, with the sight of policemen strewn across the city.

What next...the possibility of the Army being called....and with rifles on the alert. Is this what the government wants to portray to the whole world? I already sense the lost of some basic freedom, with police threats of arrest at anyone who goes against them, being splash on TV screens.

Sooner or later, we will not be permitted to go into public toilets in groups of 5 and above, without a police permit.

Sunday, July 13, 2008

" Imposition of visa for Malaysians entering the UK by year end" writes the headlines in Star on line dated July 13th, 2008.

This ruling creates concern to many Malaysians who flock to the UK in the thousands each year. Being a former colony of the UK, Malaysian today still chooses the UK for their European holidays, despite the escalating costs to travel and to stay there. This is truly amazing.

The excuse that the UK government gave to exclude Malaysia on it visa exemption list is because, Malaysians have abused their entry permit, by either working there, unlawfully overstaying or had done undesirable things.

For the reasons given above, I do not believe it so grave enough to warrant such a serious action by the UK government. I suspect that there are other unknown factors or reasons that had influence the decision.

Be that as it may, the ball is now in Malaysia feet. The learned Minister of Foreign Affairs, Dr. Rais Yatim is reported ready to go to London to appeal that such a decision be revoked. This will not be an easy task, and Dr. Rais has to do a lot of diplomatic manoeuvres to convince the UK government.

We also hope that the UK government will ease in its proposed ruling, and be considerate enough to continue to include Malaysia in its visa exemption list.

This morning I read a report on NST online that "The British Government is to undertake a scientific research project on climate change in the Danum Valley Conservation Area"

I know many of us do not know where Danum Valley is. I too did not know it until I was asked to organised a visit for the outgoing British Chief of Defence Force (CDF), Gen Bishop and his wife to Danum Valley back in 1991, when I was the 5 Infantry Brigade, Deputy Commander based at Lok Kawi, Kota Knabalu, Sabah.Apparently, Gen Bishop being an enthusiast for birds, knew of Danun Valley from other British naturalist that frequents the place.

When I received the tasked from Army HQ, non of my officers had an inkling as to where Danum Valley was, and yet we were stationed in Sabah. I quickly called the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Tourism Sabah, Mr Wilfred Lingham than, to find out, and he told me that it was in Lahad Datu. I got a topography map (the one's used by the Army) to locate exactly its location and to plan the route in for the RMAF helicopter.

Danum Valley Conservation Area is located about 70 km west of Lahad Datu. It is a 43,000 ha of virgin forest which has been gazetted by the Sabah state government for research purposes, and is managed by the Sabah Foundation (Yayasan Sabah).

In readiness of the visit of Gen Bishop, I had to positioned myself at Danum Valley ahead of the arrival of my visitor; to organised the landing point for the helicopter, prepare his itinerary, meal arrangement and place of accommodation. Upon arrival at Danum Valley, I was surprised to find out that the place being a research centre, had all the facilities needed for visiting dignitaries to stay, including hot shower. That made the whole lot easy for me.

The arrival of Gen Bishop caused a lot of excitement for the stuffs of the conversation centre, who wants to give their best for their distinguished visitors and the entourage. Knowing that Gen Bishop was a keen bird watcher, they organised a trip around the centre to catch a glimpse of birds in its natural habitat.

I observed that Gen Bishop had a book, and each time he catches a glimpse of a bird, he refers to the book, and explains to us details of the bird. It is amazing to watch a bird watcher at work, for it requires lots of patience to be looking up into the trees all the time.

The trip to Danum Valley had taught me one thing, that we as Army officers who frequents the jungle do not really appreciate nature......God's worthy present to mankind.

Saturday, July 12, 2008

I read with interest a report cited in Utusan on line dated July 12, 2008, that the Malaysian Armed Forces (MAF) wants to establish a Commando Unit to the the newly formed Joint Force HQ (Markas Angkatan Bersama).

I am informed that the Joint Force HQ ( a tri service outfit) is already being created (though not fully manned), and is presently located at the Ministry of Defence complex at Jalan Pandang Tembak, Kuala Lumpur. I am not quite sure how the HQ is organized, where is it to finally located, and to which organizational model have they adopted. I am not surprise if they have adopted the Australian model, knowing that our MAF has had close affiliation with the Australian Armed Forces.

While I was in service, I had the opportunity to undergo a Joint Warfare Course at the Australian Joint Warfare Training Centre at Williamstown, Australia. It was a new exposure for me, since joint warfare training has never been taught at our training institutions at the time. The course participants comprised of officers from the three services i.e. Army, Navy and Air Force.

The objective behind the creation of a Joint Force is to ready troops for deployment outside the area of our own defences. In other words, having the capability to deploy troops overseas, for whatever the purpose. The force being joint in nature, would perforce have it own resources in ships and aircrafts, beside the infantry component.

Such being the composition of the force, it is a highly mobile force capable of operating independently. I would say that it is the most expensive force to maintain, and there are not very many Armed Forces in the world today, having such a force. I don't remember both the Indian and Pakistan Armed Forces having such a force, despite them having quite a large Armed Forces.

With the establishment of the Joint Force HQ for the MAF, several questions need to be asked:

1. Is there a real necessity to create a dedicated Joint Force component for the MAF?2. Is the establishment in conformity with the needs of the country's national defence strategy? 3. How would the force be equipped? Is it through the concept of affiliation of current Army, Navy and Air Force resources to the force, or it is through the concept of having dedicated resources comprising of components of the three services?

Joint Warfare training is highly complex, with a unique command and control organization. Jointry can only be exercised if the force is a dedicated one. If the concept is one of affiliation, then I am afraid, jointry will not be achieved.

I wish the Armed Forces all the best in its new undertaking, and it is my hope to see the aspirations of the force be fulfilled.

"Much more can be done for ex servicemen, other than them having to be taxi drivers and security guards". This is a quote from an ex solder of mine who is now taxi driver, and that has been pricking me ever since.

I am fully aware of the existence of the Veteran Affairs Department, the Ex Servicemen Association which I deemed a 'politically aligned' association, LTAT and PERHEBAT; each having its own function and responsibility that is related to the Armed Forces and ex servicemen included.

I am told that each year, a total of no less than 3000 soldiers (including officers) leave the military service, for one reason or the other. This is a large figure by any standards, and what they do after leaving the service, is not very well known. Some do make it in the second vocation, but the majority do not.

We do know that among those that leave, there are those that has acquired some expertise that has the potential for business outside. What I am referring at are those soldiers that have the technical expertise; for instance vehicle mechanics, technicians, welders, electricians, bricklayers, carpenters, weapon technicians and a host of other expertise. These soldiers are experts in their vocation, and what differentiates them from their civilian counterparts, is that they are imbued with discipline.

What I am proposing is that the various organizations mentioned in paragraph 2. above, should get together and to think of how to harness the expertise and experience of the soldiers, and to turn it into a profitable business venture, that will benefit the soldiers, the organizations and the nation.

As a start, we can look at building a business venture that is related to vehicle maintenance; somewhat parallel to Spanco. This business is large and ever growing, with some government contracts awarded to the company. Similarly, we can also look at building a business related to agriculture, and my thought is in the cattle and goat rearing business on a commercial basis. Surely, states will be willing to help by leasing out suitable areas for such businesses.

With regards to funds, LTAT should take the lead, and to be seen as contributing directly to the development of business opportunities for ex servicemen. The businesses developed must be fashioned professionally, managed by people, (preferably officers and soldiers) with the right acumen for business.

I am not a businessman, but I see the enormous potential in soldiers if their expertise is properly harnessed. The bottom line to this proposal (which need to studied in depth) is to help ex soldiers to lead a better life, and to continue contributing their services to the nation; not as soldiers but as civilians.

The arrest by ACA of Director General,Immigration Department, Dato Wahid Md Dom clearly shows the extend of corruption permeating the top echelons of the civil service today. I am not at all surprise if such an outrageous and sinful act of Dato Wahid is not the first, but he has been at it before. There is a Malay adage which say "pandai pandai tupai melompat, akhirnya jatuh ke tanah jua". This adage fits the act of Dato Wahid.

I am also certain that Dato Wahid did not act alone. There will be others under his charge who are his conspirators, that shares the loot that could have run into millions. I am sure all these will be exposed by the ACA soon, and a check on his accounts and properties will tell the extend of his act.

The concern now is to what extend has the damage been done to the nation? This is an issue of national security, and to have 'undesirable people' come into this country 'via the courtesy' of Dato Wahid, is justifiable enough to call him a traitor.

In the days of the Malay Sultanate, a person who is deemed a traitor of the state, is beheaded. However, our present day laws does not allow beheading a person, but I suppose the days ahead for Dato Wahid, is enough to make him suffer. His outrageous act also has demeaned his entire family.

Since the act is done by the top most officer of the department, the possibility of the act extending to the various states, is highly probable. Now that the powers to prosecute is in the hands of the ACA, I hope the process of discharging this case can be done more speedily.

MP for Wangsa Maju, YB Wee Choo Keong has exposed two startling reports that is tinted in suspicion and impropriety by the federal government and its agencies, in his blog http://weechookeong.wordpress.com. The report states the following:

1. That Air Asia has incurred a debt of RM 110 million to MAHB since 2002, against a sum of RM 60 million as claimed by the CEO Air Asia, Tony Fernandes. It was reported that the Deputy Minister of Transport had confirmed the the debt of RM 110 is the correct amount, and not RM 60 million as claimed by Tony. Now..who is cheating who? A difference of RM 40 million is a huge amount, and this will give rise to a lot of speculations. Don't blame people if they begin to speculate that the money has gone into the pockets of so and so. What puzzles me most is that suddenly the Minister of Finance has absorb himself of any responsibility, despite knowing that MAHB is a GLC, and is under the purview of the Ministry of Finance. With the shoving of blame, who then will be responsible to ensure that Air Asia pays up its debt? If it is too difficult for the federal government to solve the problem, I would suggest they invite the Menteri Besar Selangor to solve the problem for them.

2. The government has awarded a contract for the upgrading of LCCT to the tune of RM 123.9 million to Fajarbaru Builders Group Bhd. YB Wee contends that the company may not be suitable to undertake the job because its core business is Investment Holding & Provision for Financial Services. By merely looking at the company's stated core business, the company does not reflect a company that is involved in the construction business. Would you not sense a rat in this deal? And is it wrong to seek clarification to ensure that public money is well spent? The public has had enough of the failures of the BN government in awarding contracts, and what YB Wee is trying to do, is to put things right the first time.

As a concern citizen, the government must be honest with itself and to immediately stop the rot, that has caused the loss in confidence of the people towards the BN government.

Friday, July 11, 2008

Nicol Ann David, the World's No 1 squash women player will be awarded a Datukship by the Yang DiPertua Negeri Pulau Pinang tomorrow , July 12, 2008.

I congratulate her for being rewarded the prestigious state award, which she so rightly deserve. Surely, her rise to the world number one spot in squash is no fluke. It is through sweat and tears, that finally paid off.

I am sure the sporting fraternity, will be equally proud of Nicol, and her achievements should serve as an example for others to emulate.

The news headlines on Staronline, Friday 11 July reads " Cops vs Cops in Gemas station" and the report says " a policeman has lodged a report against all his colleagues including his superior over dissatisfaction on how the monthly bribes from those operating illegal activities was being distributed".

Gosh...what am I reading? This sounds like a third world country report, or are we still a third world country, lavishing in top class facilities? I thought the police has sorted out the bad hats, and with the anti corruption slogan pinned on their uniforms and plasted on their vehicles, gave me the impression that corruption in the force is long past. Sadly,this is not so, and I now begin to wonder, whether the practise of collecting bribes and distributing the haul among fellow policeman is common business in all stations (large and small)?

This is indeed a serious allegation and should this be true, I think the IGP (who is himself being investigated by the ACA for fabrication of evidence) will have a monumental task of cleansing the force. This reminds me of a statement made by Tun Haniff (former IGP) sometime ago, when he said that a large number of officers and the lower ranks in the force are corrupt, and this was never disputed by the leadership than.

I believe that corruption in the force is already an embedded culture; hence it cannot be eradicated at the wink of an eye. This culture must cease at the top first, with only those with a 'sparkling clean slate' be given promotion to top positions. Those found to be 'unclean' has to be weeded out, setting an example for others to see, including the lower ranks.

As an Malay and a Muslims, we are taught that corruption is sinful, and to feed one's family with ill gotten wealth is even more sinful. Yet, we still hear of corruption in the force which are predominantly Malays, and honestly, I am thoroughly shameful.

My only advise to the IGP (if I am allowed to do so) is to immerse your officers and men in deep and serious religious indoctrination. Your father is an example of a god fearing person, and you should go to him for guidance.

So the ACA has called in Musa Hassan and Gani Patail for questioning, regarding a police report that Anwar Ibrahim had submitted, citing Musa and Gani for fabricating evidence in Anwar's trial in 1988. All the while, it has been Musa and Gani investigating and questioning others. What a turn of events.

There is bound to be comments from the public, to say that the questioning is merely an 'act' to show to the public that the ACA is serious and takes no nonsense. My personal view concerning this is that, at least the ACA has acted on the report, regardless of whoever the person(s)are. This shows that the system of "justice and fair play" works in this country , and for this I salute the ACA.

We all need to be patience now, and to await the outcome of the ACA's investigation.

Finally Pak Lah has said that "I will step down and hand over the presidency and premiership to Najib by mid 2010" although the month and date was not specified.

The big question now is,"who would assume the mantle of Deputy PM when Najib takes over the PM's post?". To the eyes of the public, there are not very many to choose from, and I do not wish to make a prediction here. However, to UMNO party members, the 'fight' has started i.e. the jockeying and shoving of favoured personalities. It would not be wrong to assume that all Vice Presidents of the party, by virtue of their positions, are possible candidates. Don't forget, Hishamuddin Hussein is no pushover, and he has strong family ties with Najib.

However, the final selection of a running mate for Najib will perforce be Najib's very own choice.The party members can do want they want to shove their own candidates, but I suppose in governing a nation, it is not solely the wishes of party members that counts, but more importantly, the relationship, trust, loyalty and most of all, the willingness to work diligently with and for the 'boss' is of prime importance.

Some had asked me, "what then will be fate of Khairy? Will this be the end of the road for him?". Again, this will all depend on how Najib views Khairy. This young man had openly said that he wants to become PM by the age of 40. If Khairy persist on such a 'dream', I think he may not last under Najib, simply because the political landscape wihthin UMNO under Najib, will not be the same as under Pak Lah. This is Malay politics, which resembles a herd of walrus. If one jumps into the water, the rest is likely to follow.

What Khairy can do to suvive his political career, is to win the heart of Najib, and the people that insulates him. I know Khairy can do that; just throw the c...h, and you are assured of support. The other assured way is to start kissing Najib's hand, and Shahidan Kassim has shown UMNO the way.

Seriously speaking, the change in the leadership of this the country has been talked about since the BN assumed power after the elections. Pak Lah has kept his word, and we ought to respect his decision.

Once in power, Najib has to constantly remember that the people are watching him. Should he not perform, the 13th General Elections which is not too far away, will seal his political fate.

Thursday, July 10, 2008

At long last, the book titled 'Ibrahim - The Malay Worriers' was finally launched by Dato Seri Najib, Minister of Defence on Wednesday, 9th July 2008. The book chronicled the life history of General Tun Ibrahim Ismail, beginning with his exploits as a young officer in the Indian Army, his participation in the 2nd World War, the Malayan emergency, the period of the Indonesia - Malaysia Confrontation and finally the May 13, 1969 racial riots. Having served the entire period of the 2nd World War, held various command assignments and later on as the Chief Executive Officer, National Operations Council (NOC) during the May 13 racial riots, he therefore has no comparison to any other military officers alive today. He is a 'historical masterpiece' of the Malaysian Armed Forces that shall long be remembered.

If I can recall, Tun Ibrahim first launched his book in August 13, 2005 at the Putra International Convention Centre, Putrajaya, in the presence of the Prime Minister, Dato Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi. In his speech, Dato Seri Abdullah who served NOC as a staff officer, had admitted to have 'feared' in Tun.

Allow me this opportunity to relate a story that I had with Tun, who was than the Director of Operations East Malaysia (DOPEM), with its headquarters in Kuching, Sarawak.

This was in the year of 1967. I was then a platoon commander in charge of a detachment located at Bekalalan, Sarawak, Our mission was to monitor the movement of Indonesians into Sarawak through the porous border of Kalimantan and Sarawak.

I was on a foot patrol one morning, passing through several long houses located along winding tracks and rivers. Upon reaching Long Rusu, approximately 30 minutes walking distance from my base camp, I heard overhead the sound of a helicopter flying towards the direction of my base camp. A few minutes later, I was called over the radio to inform me that DOPEM has landed at my base camp. I was shocked, because I was not told earlier by my battalion headquarters based at Long Pasia, about the visit.

With hearts pounding, I raced home through the jungle tracks, well ahead of my soldiers. All the time, I was imagining the scolding that I will be getting from DOPEM for being absent during his arrival. Upon arrival at my base camp, short of breath and still in a daze as to what I should say to DOPEM, there ahead of me was DOPEM with his ADC (Capt Latiff Ahmad) smiling. I could not believe in what I saw....but I thanked god for showing kindness in the heart of my distinguished visitor. That little smile that he gave me was enough for me to regain my composure and strength. Before I could salute him, he extended his hands to congratulate me for my good work in maintaining the cleanliness of my camp. The visit has to be short, because DOPEM ha to fly back before the clouds closed in.

I am in possession of a signed copy of Tun's book and having read it, I would recommend that the book be read by all officers of the Armed Forces, and be kept a copy each.

I read with sadness and pity the death of Aina Mardiah, the 17 year old daughter of ISA detainee Shahrial Sirin, who was safely buried at my village, Kg. Sungai Serai, Ulu Langat, Selangor, on Friday 4, 2008

Shahril Sirin has been a detainee for the last 7 years, and to see him released just to attend the funeral of his daughter is indeed heartbreaking.

As a father and a grandfather to three lovely little kids, I can feel what is in the heart of Shahril, and that of his remaining family.

I only hope the PM and the Minister of Internal Security was there at the funeral, and for them to feel how is it like to witness a daughter suffer without the father, only to see the daughter in death.

The much anticipated debate between Minister of Information, Dato Ahmad Shabery Cheek and Anwar Ibrahim over the issue of the recent price hike of petrol has to be viewed as an intellectual discourse between two individuals, whose aim is to inform the public as to the reasons for the price, and any options available to the government to avoid a further hike.

The debate which is scheduled July 15 (Tuesday) at Dewan Bahasa & Pustaka at night, will be aired live over TV3.

The debate should not be viewed as a political gimmick, to voice political differences and ending up in a smearing campaign and tongue lashing, to win public support. The focus should be the topic under discussion, and not be swayed by emotions. I believe, Malaysians are matured enough to listen attentively and to make their own judgement, of the two speakers and their stance on the issue.

My hope is that both the speakers should remain level headed at all time, and to discuss the issue in the most rationalised, sound and logical manner. There should not be loser or winner at the end of the debate.

For the past several months, I have been an avid watcher of the spat between Tun Mahathir and Pak Lah’s government; especially Tun’s persistent criticism of his successor. I find it unusual though for Tun, having being at the helm of government for 22 years, and with a number of his ‘subordinates’ still holding ministerial posts today, could lash out his criticisms at the entire government, that he once commandeered.

Though strange to some, Tun’s bashful retorts at some of the things that the present government does, surely has its reasons, which has been made known by Tun, in no uncertain terms at various gatherings and meetings with people across the country.

Despite the above, Pak Lah still remains adamant, and is far from conceding to the pressures for him to relieve of his post, after his party’s dismal showing in the March 8, general elections. Even after having lost the state of Penang, his home state to the opposition, he claims the Malay voters are still supporting UMNO, which is now synonymous with him. This claim has given Pak Lah the legitimacy to cling to power, although there has been many dissenting voices within the party itself.

The recent ‘drama’ involving Najib, Rosmah, Anwar, Saiful, Bala, Musa, Gani and RPK has somewhat distracted the public’s attention towards the Mahathir-Pak Lah’s tirades; the latter being the least vocal. The ‘drama’ has raised several perceptions and spectre in the minds of people, one of which (if it is worth believing), is that the script to the ‘drama’ was written by Pak Lah himself.

Assuming the above to be true, Malaysia will the first country in the world to have its top members of both the legislative and judiciary as ‘criminals’, that is likely to drag the country towards political and economic oblivion.

Many questions will then be asked. Who else can the people believe? What laws runs this country? Are we nearing Armageddon?

Only yesterday, Pak Lah has awaken from his slumber, and was quick to shot down the internet (bloggers I suppose), whom he said had exacerbated the slandering and smearing of lies to those involved in the ‘drama’, supposedly squaring on Anwar. This accusation has taken a new turn to the reform stance adpoted by the new Minister of Information, who is much friendlier to the press, and to the bloggers in particular.

With all the uncertainties prevailing, and the possibility of new found ‘dramas’ being propped up, Malaysia can no longer be what it was before.

Public lost of confidence at the government, the judiciary and the police has been said aloud. Economic woes has added pressure on the people. And voices that the Army will be called in to assist the police if widespread disorder develops, has caused public criticism. Voices has also be heard that continued public protest, and in much larger scale will now spread into the streets.

What will all the above do to this country? My guess is one of apprehension and untold fear, which my grandchildren does not deserve.

Tuesday, July 8, 2008

The Perak state government has indeed made history by selecting more professionals than politicians for the 338 councillor posts in the state. What amazed me was that for the very first time, a retired senior navy officer has also been named. Others are made up of a former judge, doctors, lawyers, professors and teachers, besides politicians. I am sure this will be a good mix of councillors set to do work and perform, in the interest of the public.

The selection made by the Perak government is unprecedented and should serve as an example to other states, who in the past has selected mainly politicians to the posts.

By selecting a retired senior navy officer to the post of councillor, the government of Datuk Seri Mohammad Nizar Jamaludin has given due recognition to the Armed Forces and in particular the Royal Malaysia Navy. I am quite sure the officer will not fail in his duty, because all officers of the Armed Forces are trained to serve, to the best of their ability.

Being an ex-member of the Armed Forces too, I give my thanks and respect to Datuk Seri Mohammad Nizar for his recognition of a fellow member of the Armed Forces.

‘UMNO Youth to counter slander against leaders’ so says the headlines in NST on line July 08, 2008.

UMNO Youth Chief, Datuk Seri Hishamuddin Hussein has said that “lies, accusation and nonsense” has been smeared on the faces of our leaders by Anwar Ibrahim’s persistent and ‘highly defamatory antics’. Hishamuddin further remarked that “he would not stand idle” at Anwar’s slanderous remarks, and to counter this, UMNO Youth will “mobilized all its members to meet the public”, supposedly to explain the truth, regarding the current problems facing the country today.

While I believe that the intention of UMNO Youth to meet the public is noble; this can however become another slandering exercise, especially when personal emotions are aroused, and when individuals making the explanation are themselves incompetent, and ill informed of the current problems. There are bound to be individuals who out of blind loyalty to party, may feel agitated and aggrieved at having others slander their leaders. When this happens, animosity between parties i.e. government and opposition, will be further aggravated, and the counter slandering goes unabated.

I believe, there are other better ways of solving this problem, without having to physically deploy UMNO Youth members roam all over the country, and whose results may not be totally effective. Different people have different ways of delivering messages and interacting with people, and this in itself will create differing perceptions and the results may not be what Hishamuddin actually wants.

The government has complete control over the mainstream media, both electronic and print that has extensive coverage. It also has control over a number of agencies down to district and village level, that has direct dealings with the people. With proper and well scripted programmes, activities and monitoring, the messages that the UMNO Youth intended to pass down to the people could be done by and through the means prescribed in the foregoing sentences. In plain simple language, use the government’s propaganda tools to its optimum.

Hishamuddin need to weight intelligently and conscientiously the effectiveness and benefits of his idea verses that of mine, as prescribed above. I am just recalling the period of the Malayan insurgency, and how the State Information Services teams would go down to the villages to counter the communist propaganda machinery, and with a film show to close the session.

In the article 'FM Manekshaw - A Tribute' posted on Monday 7th,2008, I had mentioned that FM Manekshaw died on Friday 4, which is erroneous. His actual date of passing is Friday, June 27th,2008. I apologise to all readers for the error.

Monday, July 7, 2008

This article was extracted from www.geocities.com and posted in this blog as a tribute to FM Manekshaw who died on Friday 4, 2008 of pneumonia in Wellington, Tamil Nadu, India at the age of 94.

The architect of India's heroic victory in the 1971 Indo-Pak war, Field Marshal Sam Hormusji Framji Jamshedji Manekshaw was born in Amirtsar, Punjab on 3rd April 1914. After completing his schooling in Amritsar and Sherwood College (Nainital), he joined the first batch of 40 cadets at Indian Military Academy (IMA), Dehra Dun on 1st October 1932. He passed out of the IMA in December 1934 and was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in the Indian Army. He held several regimental assignments and was first attached to the Royal Scouts and later to the 12 Frontier Force Rifles.

During World War 11, he saw action in the Burma campaign on Sittang river and has the rare distinction of being honoured for his bravery on the battle front itself. During Worl;d War 11, he was leading a counter-offensive against the invading Japanese Army in Burma. As he charged forward with his men, a Japanese soldier suddenly emerged from the bushes and fired at him, wounding him seriously in the stomach. Fortunately, Major General D.T. Cowan spotted Manekshaw holding on to his life and was aware of his valour in face of stiff resistance from the Japanese. Fearing the worst, Major General Cowan quickly pinned his own Military Cross ribbon on to Manekshaw saying, "a dead person cannot be awarded a Military Cross".

Having recovered from those near-fatal wounds in Burma, Manekshaw went for a course at Staff College, Quetta and later also served there as an instructor before being sent to join 12 Frontier Force Rifles in Burma under General (later Field Marshal) Slim's 14th Army. He was once again involved in a fierce battle with the Japanese, and was wounded for a second time. Towards the close of World War 11, Manekshaw was sent as Staff Officer to General Daisy in Indo-China where, after the Japanese surrender, he helped rehabilitate over 10,000 POWs. He then when on a six-month lecture tour to Australia in 1946, and after his return served as a First Grade Staff Officer in the Military Operations Directorate.

Manekshaw showed acumen for planning and administration while handling the issues related to partition in 1947, and later put to use his battle skills during the 1947-48 Jammu & Kashmir Operations. After command of an Infantry Brigade, he was posted as the Commandant of the Infantry School, and also became the Colonel of 8 Gorkha Rifles (his regimental home) and 61 Cavalry. He commanded a Division in Jammu & Kashmir and a Corps in the North East, with a tenure as Comandant of Defence Se5rvices Staff College (DSSC) in between. As GOC-in-C Eastern Command, he handled the tricky problem of insurgency in Nagaland and the grateful nation honoured him with a Padma Bhushan in 1968.

Manekshaw became the 8th Army Chief when he succeeded General Kumaramangalam on 7th June 1969. His years of military experience were soon put to the test as thousands of refugees from the erstwhile East Pakistan started crossing over to India as a result of oppression unleashed from West Pakistan. The volatile situation got worse, and soon erupted into a full-scale war in December 1971.

During the military campaign, Manekshaw showed uncommon ability to motivate the forces, coupling it with a mature war strategy. The war ended with Pakistan's unconditional surrender, and the formation of Bangladesh. More than90,000 Pakistani soldiers were taken as POWs.

For his selfless service to the nation, the President of India awarded him a Padma Vibhushan in 1972 and conferred upon him the rank of Field Marshal on 1st January 1973. Manekshaw became the first Indian General to be awarded this prestigious rank, which is mainly honorary. Manekshaw retired on 15th January 1973 (14 days after being conferred the rank of Field Marshal), after completing nearly four decades of military service.

Note:

I was privileged to have listened to his talk on Military Leadership, while a student at Defence Service Staff College, Wellington, India in 1984. He was then retired, but is a regular speaker at the college.

My favourite politician, Samy Vellu is back at his antics again. This time he picked on his MIC Youth Chief, Vigneswaran for a tongue lashing. Samy said that Vigneswaran “ is good at chairing meetings but failed to come up with clear programmes and policies to uplift Indian youth” as was reported in today’s 7 July, Star on line.

Samy is indeed a quick learner, and such antics, I thought is only prevalent in UMNO. But being Samy, who has acquired the habit of ‘I do no wrong, and it is others who are always wrong’ behaviour, supposedly from his counterpart from Tamil Nadu, seems for want of popularity, decides to spill it out at some pressman, who in turn splashes it in bold letterings in the Star papers. This report must have arouse and excite Samy.

If I can rightly recall, even Tun Mahathir has made an observation of Samy by stating that Samy ‘is fond of accusing others of failure, except himself’. This flawless Samy must be quite a person, but having to lose Sg. Siput in the last general election, conjures up a different perspective of Samy. His loss must have nothing to do with his flawless self.

As the MIC chief, placing the blame wholly on Vigneswaran may not be correct. Samy has to take account of some blame; at least for not nipping the problem in the bud. Problems in the party do not occur spontaneously, but I believe it has developed over a period of time. Samy must have known this problem, or was it hidden from him by his cronies?

Samy, there are a lot more to be done for the Indian community after a long period of neglect by you, and you know this. Blaming others for their failure will not do any good to the party. It will only cause divisions among your members, which you could ill afford at this point in time.

As a Melayu, I take pity on your community, and I hope you do give an ear to my comments.

What option do the people have to voice their dissension at the government for the recent price hikes that had caused considerable hardship to many? In the first instance, were the people ever consulted before the announcement was made to raise the price of patrol? The answer is NO. That be the case, why is it so wrong for the people to protest at a gathering yesterday Sunday, 6 July ?

The government has consistently said that voicing the people’s displeasure through a mass protest, is not the righteous way, with the excuse that such protest may cause fear and disrupt public order. My question is, “did the protest on Sunday disrupt public order and instilled fear among the people”. My answer is again NO.

From my observation, the protest went on without any untoward incident, because there were no water cannons and riot police in large numbers ready to disperse the protesters. Had there been the excessive presence of the riot police, the situation may have been different, simply because the protesters may get agitated at the sight of the riot police.

Sunday’s protest has proven to all that we Malaysians are a civilized lot, and they understand the difference between right and wrong. They value peace and stability, but the unfortunate thing is that the government has totally an absurd perspective of Malaysians. They still think that a crowd of more than five people can create public disorder of national consequences. Hence, the crowd need to be silence at all costs by whatever method…..dragging and beating in most cases. This I suppose is the modus operandi of our police force….the guidance of peace and public order. The use of minimum force, as I was taught early in my military training, does not seem to apply to the police, when dealing with the public. Even the use of live rounds on protesters is an option for the police nowadays.

The people has made their voices heard, and it is now for the government to act, by action and not by words. This protest is not the last, and I believe it is just the beginning to an even larger protest, if the government adopts a lackadaisical approach to the many dissenting voices of the people.

This message is intended for both retired and serving officers of the Royal Malay Regiment, who may or may not have known the existence of the Kelab Pegawai Rejimen Askar Melayu Diraja (KPRAMD).

The purpose of the club is to perpetuate an everlasting relationship and espirit de corps among officers (both retired and serving) of the Royal Malay Regiment, and for the club to constantly monitor and be aware of the welfare and well being of its members.The club is not a business entity, and hence it derive it funds for the maintenance of the club activities purely from contributions made by members, friends and from private corporations.

At the last AGM held on 6 June 2008, Gen Tun Ibrahim Ismail,Patron of KPRAMD has appealed to members to aggressively promote the club's membership. The Royal Malay Regiment being the backbone of the Army and the oldest corps, has the strength to shape and determine the future of the Army, and through KPRAMD, to perpetually contribute towards maintaining the history and legacy of the corps for our future generation.

I would personally advise that all retired and serving officers of the Royal Malay Regiment become members of KPRAMD immediately, and with strength in numbers,our voices shall be heard....loud and clear.

Sunday, July 6, 2008

The Director of Military Intelligence, Lt Jen Datuk Mohd Salleh Ismail has denied "that the military intelligence had been a source of information for PKR advisor, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim concerning threats to his safety and that of his family" as was reported in NST online dated July 5th,2008.

The denial has now been the talk among retired senior military officers, who generally felt that it was wrong and unprofessional for Datuk Mohd Salleh to utter such a statement to the press. This act will simply give away the perception that the military is siding with the government and incriminating Anwar and his family.

Our Armed Forces has to remain true to being above politics. The case involving Anwar against the government is political in nature, and even if Anwar has implicated the military intelligence to the case, the least that Datuk Mohd Salleh could have said was that "this matter is in the hands of the police, and let the police handle it", or words to that effect.

By doing what he did, he had unceremoniously dragged the Armed Forces into a political fray, involving the top political echelons of the country. This is a major setback, that can bring disrepute and mistrust of the military intelligence.

What the military intelligence need to do now is for them to realign itself to its primary role and responsibility i.e. the acquisition of intelligence that threatens national sovereignty, defence and security. National politics is not part of such role and responsibility.

"Perak PR Government will fall by 31 August" so says Azam the soothsayer, as reported in NST today.

What is this half-baked-frog-leaping politician talking about? Has he now become a cheap microphone piece for UMNO? I am just wondering, where did he get the idea that the Perak PR government will fall by August? Can he not also predict that the Pak Lah's government will fall by September, and the exact date please?

This person by the name of Azam Mohd Nor is certainly making waves across the country....an aspihttp://www.blogger.com/img/gl.spell.gifCheck Spellingring PM I suppose. Oh no...please, you have Khairy to compete with you.

I did ask you in my previous article "where are the boxes load of files of supposedly corrupt politicians?". Have you forgotten this? Or have you handed it to Pak Lah and he in turn handed it to Khairy....as 'ammunition' in the future?.

You are a liar and nothing but a liar. You are also a coward and out of fear, you now seek refuge behind UMNO. Why don't you just simply go back to your kampung, meet a Tuan Guru and relearn the Quran. This is the better thing for you to do...then to start smearing the good name of other people, for your own political survival. Do you also know that in the hereafter, Allah does not give preference to politicians? He treats everyone the same...no PM, no royalties, no ministers and no politicians like you. He only judge you by your good deeds, and I know that you know this.

Azam for what you are...please do something good. The country needs someone who can upturn the mess that this country is getting into. And I believe, you are one of a person who can help. And my brotherly advice...stop being a soothsayer.

FED UP....Yes, that's the word of the day, and I too am fed up. I would like to advice our political leaders to look at themselves in the mirror and ask, "what have I done to this country?". If you are honest with yourself, the mirror will say, "destruction and utter destruction".

That is exactly where our country is heading for...utter destruction, after years of savouring economic prosperity and peaceful existence. This is the doing of our self centered, greedy and corrupt leaders, who continues to lead a blissful life in homes that resembles palaces, while others have to struggle to exist.

I was back at my village this weekend, and the 'talk of the town' are complaints of increasing hardship and an uncertain future. I invite all politicians to go into the villages to witness for themselves the sufferings of the village folks, and please bring along bags of cash to pacify them. Otherwise, bad eggs will be thrown at you.

This politiking has to stop immediately. Approach the problems facing the country head on. Invite all political parties and including the opposition to some serious discussion, to seek ways to resolve the prevailing problems affecting the country today. Set aside your political differences. Shake hands and kiss one another if need be. Stop accusing and pointing fingers at one another like little children. Act like decent adults with a serious desire to change, and to seek solutions to the fast deteriorating state of affairs of this country, of which you have been entrusted.

The people have chosen you the politicians, to ensure that their livelihood is being well looked after. Instead, because of your greed for power, you have completely ignored their trust on you.

Please remember this....if you are a Malay and you claim yourself to be a leader and profess Islam to be your faith, you are being judged by Allah SWT in the hereafter. Your deeds and wealth will be questioned, and you cannot turn around to seek help from Musan Hassan or from Ghani Patail to defend you, or to trampled up evidence. You have to face it alone.

Please Mr. Politicians, have your brains and your hearts placed at the correct places. They are given to you by Allah all mighty for you to think, and to do good to the people being led by you. If you think that you cannot fulfill the trust given to you by your people, you have no other alternative but to leave.

I hope, all that I have said above make sense to our politicians and so called leaders.

The IGP has said that he may call for the Army to assist if public security is jeopardise. My question is......isn't there enough policeman to perform public security duties? And the authorities (whoever it maybe)must understand the implications of using the Army on public security duty. I do not want Army personals to be brought to court to stand trial for murdering civilians.

I had also in my earlier articles in this blog, mentioned by total disagreement to the use of the Army for public order duties, because I believe the police has enough resources to deal with it.

I could still remember as Chief of Staff Operations at Army Field HQ in 1997, I was directed to deploy Army troops to occupy Police Field Force unit positions along the shores of the states of Malacca, Negeri Sembilan and Johore. I personally do not agree with such a deployment, because guarding the shores to stop the entry of illegal immigrants is not an Army responsibility. Rather, it is an internal security issue, which is the primary responsibility of the Police. I believe the Army is still saddled with this responsibility, and there is no sign that the police would want to accept back that responsibility.

In India and Pakistan, the border areas are not manned by the Army units or formations. That role is provided for by the Border Security Forces, which are basically police units.

I do hope my explanation above is simple enough to be understood by the IGP, and to refrain from mentioning any further, the use of the Army for public order duties.

Saturday, July 5, 2008

The Royal Malay Regiment Officers Club (RMDOC) whose Malay acronym is KPRAMD, held its 15th Annual General Meeting, Saturday 6th 2008 at the Officers Mess of the Royal Signal Regiment, Jalan Ampang, Kuala Lumpur. KPRAMD was formed past a decade ago, primarily to perpetuate a lasting bondage and the espirit de corps among its members, that comprise of both retired and serving officers of the Royal Malay Regiment.

I somehow missed attending the last AGM for unknown reason, but was reminded consistently by the club’s secretariat via sms to make my presence at the AGM this year, and which I did. My willingness to attend is not so much about the meeting, but it is about meeting old friends, a majority of whom were my superiors. I could refer all of them as friends now, because we no longer classify individual members by class or seniority. All are collectively referred to as retirees.

The AGM was graced by General Tun Ibrahim Ismail, the club’s patron and an outstanding soldier, whose contribution to the nation and the Armed Forces in particular, is second to none. He was the person who during the riots of May 13, 1969, was offered by Tun Razak Hussein to administer the troubled nation, but only to refuse it and said that “ as a soldier, I am not trained to run a government” or words to that effect. Those words has remained embedded in the minds of all officers of the Armed Forces till today, where loyalty and unquestioned servitude is towards King and country only.

Many issues were raised at the AGM, ranging from ‘regimental issues’ affecting the corps and the Army, to a hint concerning the political landscape troubling the country today. I am glad that a mention is made of the latter, because I strongly believe that the Armed Forces being a ‘tool’ of the government, has to be fully conscious of its primary role, and not to indulge itself in roles that will incriminate itself as the defender of the sovereignty of the nation. It is for this reason that I had in an earlier article in this blog, stated my wholesome disagreement to the ‘indiscriminate’ use of the Army in Public Duties, should a worsening public order situation develops as a result of the current fiasco brewing among the political circles today.

One striking issue that was raised by a senior members, was with regards to what he implies as ‘indifference attitude’ of the government towards the Armed Forces, and in particular to the Royal Malay Regiment, in recognizing the services of the latter towards the maintenance of defence and security of the nation. Matters relating to the club were raised up to the Ministry of Defence, with them promising to support the club of some of its request. But what the club got later were unfulfilled promises. Someone remarked..”masuk telinga kiri, keluar telinga kanan”. This is how the government views the club members, in recognition for their loyalty and service to the nation.

The Royal Malay Regiment has been in the forefront of defence and security during the 2nd World War, the 1st and 2nd Emergency, the period of confrontation and the May 13 incident. Hundreds have died in the line duty; and the Royal Malay Regiment has sworn never to forsake its duties and responsibilities to defend the country to its very last drop of blood.

The club, I am told, is fortunate enough to receive some goodwill from LTAT, and from some generous members, in the form of cash donation. This is the only source of income to the club. I don’t think there is any monetary contribution by the government to club activities, but the spirit to survive has endured the club to remain in existence till this day.

The present club house is an old government quarters, that can be taken back at a stroke of a pen by anyone from the government. In other words, the club is at the mercy of the government. And is this the way soldiers are treated for their loyalty and service to the motherland? I think politicians in this country gets better treatment, and I suppose this is the very reason why many aspire to become politicians……even for some gatekeeper.

At the end of the meeting, Tun Ibrahim in his casual self, reminded the members to remain steadfast as loyal members of the club; to continue to grow in membership in the hope that one day, the club will be strong with a voice, and be recognized by all and sundry.